Legumes Assados com Farofa (Brazilian Roasted Vegetables with Farofa)

About This Recipe

This dish combines two staples of Brazilian cooking — roasted vegetables and farofa, toasted cassava flour — into a starter that plays soft, caramelized vegetables against a generous scatter of crunchy, buttery farofa. Sweet potato, carrot and pumpkin are roasted until their edges caramelize and their centers turn soft, a simple technique that lets the vegetables' natural sweetness come through with minimal seasoning. Farofa, toasted with butter and a bit of onion until golden and fragrant, is scattered generously over the top just before serving, its crunch and nutty flavor turning a simple roasted vegetable dish into something distinctly Brazilian.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 2sweet potatoes(peeled and cubed)
• 2carrots(peeled and cut into chunks)
• 2 cupspumpkin or squash(cubed)
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 1 tspsalt
• 1/2 tspblack pepper
• 3 tbspbutter(for farofa)
• 1/2onion(finely diced, for farofa)
• 1 cupcassava flour (farinha de mandioca)(for farofa)
• 2 tbspchopped parsley(for garnish)

Instructions

1. 1

   Roast the vegetables

   Toss sweet potato, carrot and pumpkin with olive oil, salt and pepper, then spread on a baking sheet and roast at 220C/425F for 30-35 minutes until tender and caramelized at the edges.

2. 2

   Make the farofa

   Melt butter in a skillet and cook the diced onion until soft, then add cassava flour and toast, stirring constantly, 5-7 minutes until golden and fragrant.

   Stir the cassava flour constantly while toasting — it can go from golden to burnt within a minute of inattention.

3. 3

   Combine

   Toss the roasted vegetables with the toasted farofa, or serve the farofa scattered on top.

4. 4

   Serve

   Garnish with parsley and serve warm.

Variations

• •

  Adding raisins or chopped bacon to the farofa gives extra sweetness or savoriness.

• •

  A version with beets added to the roasted vegetables gives a striking color contrast.

• •

  This dish pairs especially well as a side to grilled meats at a Brazilian churrasco.

Storage

Refrigerate roasted vegetables and farofa separately up to 3 days; combine and reheat the vegetables before adding fresh or reheated farofa on top to keep its crunch.

Frequently Asked Questions